Housing
Inside the College Football Game-Day Housing Boom
Game-day housing demands are driving up rents, hollowing out neighborhoods, and stoking the real estate market for second homes aimed at alumni fans.
Earlier this month, more than 59,000 college football fans descended on Mississippi State University’s campus in Starkville, Mississippi, to watch the Louisiana State Tigers take on the home team. The visitors dealt the Bulldogs a harsh defeat, 36-13. It’s been a tough season so far for MSU’s program.
But game-day weekends are still good business for short-term rentals in a college football town like in Starkville. In a city of just over 25,000 souls, hundreds of places to stay are available to book across Airbnb, VRBO, Homeaway, and other online booking platforms. During the 2018 football season, Airbnb alone brought in more than 1,700 visitors, a local newspaper reported earlier this year.